Innovation and business

The group collaborates on business and impact projects for economic development in Cornwall and the South West, such as Agri-tech Cornwall, Cornwall New Energy, Deep Digital Cornwall, Marine-i, Smartline, Tevi and Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change. 

A high profile example is the Smartline collaborative project with the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, Coastline Housing, Cornwall Council, the South West Academic Health Science Network, and Volunteer Cornwall. This has sparked an explosion of local/regional businesses developing digital products and services for health and well-being, e.g., Bur-Bax-10 (smart heating), Buzz Interactive (self-assessment health mobile apps), Coastline Housing (domestic environment and utilities sensing), Numeration Systems (carbon accounting for health care), Newquay Hypnotherapy (AI-based chat-bots for psychotherapy), The Smart Home Co. (smart building access).

Since 2016, the group has also hosted three Innovate UK projects with NJW (part of Causeway Technologies), Hirst Magnetic Instruments, and Chelonia; and several MSc and PhD projects with industrial links including GridIMP, Hi9, SWIN, Met Office. For example, the collaboration with Hirst Magnetic Instruments is transforming the magnet characterisation industry using novel and innovative methods based on ‘Pulsed Field Magnetometry’. This is helping to address the increasing demand for magnet manufacturing in today’s thriving renewable energy sectors and electric vehicle markets and will secure the economic prosperity of this high-tech industry in Cornwall.